About Netsurfer Books

Netsurfer Books is a bi-monthly e-zine offering short reviews of books and related items. We include listings based on recommendations from our staff and reviews from other individuals. Are we bribed to include any of these items? No. Do we receive a commission if you purchase an item through one of the links included here? Yes. Are we waiting to hear from you about what you'd like to see reviewed? Definitely.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust 1941-1945

The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust 1941-1945
by David S. Wyman, Elie Wiesel (Introduction)
New Press; ISBN: 1565844157

The recent Buchanan treatise on America's entry into World War II's European theater earns begrudging acknowledgement that the subsequent Cold War would have had an entirely different face in a what-if scenario. Critics, though, rightly identify not the ideology of isolationism and what-might-have-beens, but the matter of morality as the more proper measure. David Wyman refutes both cases, saying that the American Government had disturbingly accurate information about Hitler's intent inside and outside Germany and dragged its feet, multiplying the human cost of the Holocaust. All three cants have relevance, particularly in light of the repression, ethnic cleansing, and genocide that we know to be going on at this moment and that we witness nightly, horrifying in even their sanitized broadcasts.

The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy

The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy
by Nicholas Lemann
Farrar Straus & Giroux; ISBN: 0374299846

Making a big splash, even accorded its own PBS hour, Lemann's book does more than just examine how high school SAT tests have become mired in controversies relating to culture, race, elitism, conformity, and money. He looks at the effect of the exams themselves. This, of course, means little to the kids who sit and sweat them every year, but it means a lot to Nicholas Lemann, and ultimately to the diversity and vitality of American culture and innovation. Lemann's premise is that at the same time American universities began looking in earnest outside the privileged classes for their alumni, using SATs in the Darwinian selection process, the country also planted the seeds of affirmative action programs - thereby rewarding standardized education for those already blessed with it, and tacitly accepting substandard services for those already cursed with them. His principal arguments might not fly for you, but his observations are intriguing. If you've ever admired outside-the-box thinking, Lemann deserves your attention.

The Failed Promise of the American High School, 1890-1995

The Failed Promise of the American High School, 1890-1995
by David L. Angus and Jeffrey E. Mirel
Teachers College Pr; ISBN: 0807738425

Effective education is vital for individuals and countries alike. Yet in the US, at least, high school students have been victimized by the persistence of two damaging ideas: that the curriculum should be differentiated by class, race, and gender, and that most students can't handle and don't need rigorous academic preparation. The result has been that few students leave with a reasonable vocational grounding. Such at least are the views of Professors Angus and Mirel, who examine the system in considerable detail, including a special emphasis on the situations in Michigan and Rochester, NY, but drawing conclusions applicable to the nation. This is a detailed, interesting, yet ultimately depressing study, which should engender fierce determination among educators, parents, administrators, and politicians to arrest the rot and build the effective system that America needs and deserves. The authors certainly have ideas about how to do this, including a call for substantially more rigorous graduation requirements and national contents standards. This is a must-read for anyone interested in educational reform.

The Tin Drum

The Tin Drum
by Gunter Grass
Vintage Books; ISBN: 067972575X

Gunter Grass, newly minted Nobel laureate, isn't as prolific as, say, Stephen King (who is?), but he's written a good deal more than this, his most famous work. Its narrator is Oskar, resolved at age three to never grow into an adult like the ones he sees around him in 1930s Germany. And, so he doesn't - grow, that is. Instead, his size stunted by sheer strength of will, he becomes a more and more cogent but oddly passionless observer of the world around him. He expresses himself with an eerily shrill scream, and drums up revelations and memories on the tin drum he's kept all his life. In many ways, Grass' work will remind you of the magical realism of Central and South American writers; it's different, though, in that it gives politics the face of Everyman, rather than making power a mystic chess match of anonymous conquest and disaster. Quaint and likeable characters reveal themselves slowly and without shame as fascists and murderers, self-serving and complicit in the drive to war and genocide. This is a chilling book.

BUSINESS

Computerized Trading: Maximizing Day Trading and Overnight Profits

Computerized Trading: Maximizing Day Trading and Overnight Profits
Mark Jurik (Editor)
Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0735200777

Here is a primer on the emerging sport of daytrading through the eyes of 20 veterans and gurus. Filled with soup-to-nuts details from getting started to data modeling and backtesting trading strategies to holding up under the psychological pressure, Jurik shows wannabes what is really involved (a lot of hard work) to be consistently profitable.

Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes--And How To Correct Them

Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes--And How To Correct Them
Gary Belsky, Thomas Gilovich
Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 0684844931

The arcane science of behavioural economics makes its way into popular press in this entertaining and highly useful volume. Belsky, a writer for Money, and Gilovich, and economics professor, unveil common financial blindspots from gambling to investments to purchasing with a credit card and how to get around them. Revealing the "secrets" of fear and greed and self control in the investment process, this book is a refreshing change from the typical "how-to" books.

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY

Snow Crash

Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson
Spectra Books; ISBN: 0553562614

With his new novel Cryptonomicon topping the bestseller charts, this may be a good time to go back and read (or re-read) Neal Stephenson's first breakthrough cyberpunk novel. The plot, something about saving the world from a new strange drug/virus called "snow crash", takes second place to the kilometer per nanosecond pacing and blinding density of original ideas. The texture and inventivness of Stepehnson's post-modern cyberpunk world is astonishing, and it made this book an instant Net-geek classic.

FICTION AND LITERATURE

Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur S. Golden
Knopf; ISBN: 0375400117

Fans of historical novels, take note. This meticulously researched story relates the tale of a geisha, one of the little-understood Japanese sisterhood. In a first-person chronicle, the book tells the story of her rise from poverty to her position as companion of a powerful man. The story itself is straightforward enough - even predictable. It's the cultural and professional detail that moves it up several notches beyond the usual fare found in the genre. Geisha still ply their calling, an arcane anachronism in a culture that reveres its private traditions. Still, it's the book's intimate and - by all reports - accurate picture of the geisha life, told in a fictionalized form, that really sets it apart. The author, a man, is a Harvard grad in Japanese art and history who spent ten years researching geisha culture in Japan.

Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy

Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy
by Jostein Gaarder, Paulette Moller (Translator)
Boulevard (Mass Market); ISBN: 0425152251

Classical philosophy hardly seems the stuff of a thoughtful mystery, 'though no one told that to Umberto Eco. Eco's absent here, and there's no sign of his William of Baskerville, but we're blessed instead with a particularly intriguing 15-year-old detective. Don't be fooled, though. This is no Nancy Drew whodunit. It's a serious examination of philosophy, hung on the story of an inquiring girl fascinated by the anonymous letters that teach her how to think about life - really think about it. Don't be fooled either by the fact that so much of the story depends on philosophy. There's a lot of joy and discovery in the tale, too. C'mon. If a 15-year-old girl can do it, so can you.

Family Honor

Family Honor
Robert B. Parker
Putnam Pub Group (T); ISBN: 0399145664

At the top of our list of guilty pleasures are Robert B. Parker's Spenser books - good, smart, quick reads, just right for the flight out and back. As unlikely as it seems, Parker has recreated Spenser as a woman in a new series, rendering - what else? - a good, smart, quick read, just right for the flight out and back. There's a Boston setting, a strong side-kick, snappy repartee, characters slightly less colorful than Elmore Leonard's but no less well defined, and a dog with its own agenda. Sound familiar? Here's a hint, too, of things to come: Sunny Randall, Parker's new lead character, was written especially with Parker's friend, actress Helen Hunt, in mind.

A Recipe for Bees

A Recipe for Bees
by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Harmony Books; ISBN: 0609604511

Lyric writing draws you into Prairie farm life. Love lavished in unexpected places makes love possible when we finally find the right places. The sensuality of honey calls to mind the sensuality of food in "Like Water for Chocolate". We're very taken with this simple story told elegantly.

Best Actress

Best Actress
by John Kane
Ballantine Books (Trd Pap); ISBN: 0345420713

This book is wickedly funny, an over-the-top expose of Hollywood's low down ambitions. We admit, 'though, that readers either love it or hate it. So, try these best actress nominees on for size. There's Fiona Covington, an English actress, nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of "a repressed lesbian nanny in a bold retelling of Mary Poppins". Also in contention is Lori Seefer, whose talent found its best expression in her role as a scientist injected with a serum that leaves her deaf, dumb, and blind throughout the film. One of the nominated actresses plans to murder the winner if it's not her own name in the envelope. We fall on the side of the group that thought the book was a scream - but then we're pulling for "Action" to continue on television.

Hard Core Logo

Hard Core Logo
by Michael Turner
Arsenal Pulp Pr Ltd; ISBN: 1551520338

All you air guitarists out there, this one's for you. Deadheads, awake! Spinal Tap, ratchet it up another notch! Here's the story - appropriately written in verse - of fictitious punk band Hard Core Logo, a decade past its prime - but not yet geriatric, as some of our real rock icons threaten to become. The undeniable encroachment of middle age doesn't stop its members, though, from launching a reunion tour to reclaim their former glory. Smooth sailing it ain't.

Dead Souls

Dead Souls
by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol, Bernard Guilbert Guerney (Translator), Susanne
Yale Univ Pr; ISBN: 0300060998

A stranger arrives in your Russian village, circa 1840. He's adept at winning friends - and a week later, he starts buying from the aristocracy the souls of their dead serfs. In the logic of 19th-century feudalism, the more serfs he possesses - even pays taxes on - the more respected he is as a man of property. It's a con, of course. We know it; his targets know it. But, that we suspect is all that we know. This is a classic of Russian literature, even of Russian humor if you can believe it. But, don't expect a satisfying finish. Gogol succumbed to insanity before completing the book; translators have used drafts to sketch a conclusion. It's almost irrelevant, though. Dead Souls' originality is the real story.

The Killer Angels

The Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara, Bob Loomis (Editor)
Random House; ISBN: 0679425411

This is the Pulitzer Prize winning fictionalized account of three of the most important days in United States history. From July 1, 1863 until the eve of the country's 87th birthday - observing fourscore and seven years - the Union Army faced off against Confederate forces in fields around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The blood shed in those days turned the tide of the War Between the States, and colored American history to this day - not to mention that it occasioned Lincoln's Gettysburg address, one of the most eloquent orations ever offered in both defense and indictment of war. Shaara's gifts are in his portraits of the most famous players - Lee, Chamberlain, Longstreet, Pickett - and in the sense he makes of the many sites, engagements, and characters that made the history. See our recommendation immediately below for a related nonfiction work, "A Killer Angels Companion".

NONFICTION

A Killer Angels Companion

A Killer Angels Companion
by D. Scott Hartwig
Thomas Publications; ISBN: 0939631954

Author Scott Hartwig spent 20 years as the historian at Gettysburg National Military Park, so he knows not only the story but also the territory of the engagements that changed the course of the Civil War. Readers of "The Killer Angels" (see immediately above) can learn more about the battle itself and its place in the war and history, and about what became of Gettysburg's key players.

Moab is My Washpot: An Autobiography

Moab is My Washpot: An Autobiography
Stephen Fry
Random House; ISBN: 0375502645

Described by his friend Emma Thompson as "90 percent gay, 10 percent other", Stephen Fry is an incorrigible nose-tweaker, claiming the UK record for most frequent use of the dreaded "F" word in a live broadcast. He's one of our favorite dry - and broad - wits, associated with Rowan Atkinson's "Blackadder" series, and playing Jeeves to Hugh Laurie's consummate upper class twit, Bertie Wooster. He's a fine actor - he played Oscar Wilde a couple years back - and a prolific comic writer for screen, stage, and print. Moab is My Washpot covers Fry's first 20 years. Telling tales quite literally out of school, he chronicles early affairs, a serious flirtation with suicide, and the time he spent in jail for fraud - and he hadn't yet made it to Cambridge.

Killing Custer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians

Killing Custer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians
by James Welch, Paul Stekler (Contributor)
W W Norton & Co; ISBN: 039303657X

Custer's prominence in the title is more metaphoric than literal, 'though the battle at the Little Bighorn figures prominently as a linchpin. In the history of the Plains Indian, everything led up to the famously revised battle; everything led away. Lawyer and Cherokee Native Welch tells the plains' history from the Native perspective, with events flowing organically rather than occurring discretely. The outcome, then, seems all the more inevitable. The course of history runs through, but doesn't stop at, Little Bighorn. Sitting Bull's and Crazy Horse's fleeting triumph in 1876 was a modern Pyrrhic victory, played out over the next two decades, with echoes to today.

Going Home: Jesus and Buddha As Brothers

Going Home: Jesus and Buddha As Brothers
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Riverhead Books; ISBN: 1573221457

Christianity and Buddhism as soul mates? It's not far off the mark, according to Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Here he finds the core and compatibility in such rituals and ideals as prayer and meditation, and resurrection and rebirth. The philosophy and religion are serious and accessible, offering substance to both scholars and New Agers. Underlying all, of course, is the humanity and generosity of spirit that we'd wish to see anywhere.

Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945

Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945
By Leo Marks
Free Press; ISBN: 0684864223

Codes have moved into new fields, beyond trench warfare. Now, the life and death of commerce depend on them. But, there was a time that Allied codemakers were responsible for countless lives - and sometime just one life. Leo Marks, a denizen of England's Bletchley Park Special Operations group, turned codemaking on its ear, moving the keys from well known poems to personal compositions - including obscene limericks - that could never be divined by enemy codebreakers. Most of the book certainly relates the very deadly serious business of war, but Marks also spends a good deal of time spinning tales of its ludicrous side - such as the research done at London zoo to produce land mines accurately mimicking animal droppings. The silk of the title refers to Marks' innovative medium for recording keys; the cyanide refers to agents' last option in the event that the silk failed.

What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls

What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls
by Lynda Madaras, Claudia Ziroli (Illustrator), Jackie Aher
Newmarket Press; ISBN: 0937858986

Straightforward without being condescending, and intended for parents and kids to share, Madaras' books have sold in the hundreds of thousands. This latest edition offers expanded information on how girls' bodies transform in shape and size, body hair, breasts, and acne. There are also chapters on subjects that make both parents and kids even more uncomfortable: the reproductive organs, sexuality, menstruation, puberty in boys; and much more, with appropriate information for 9-to-15-year-olds on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted disease, and birth control. Naturally, it's illustrated.

The What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys

The What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys
by Lynda Madaras, Dane Saavedra (Contributor), Ralph Lopez
Newmarket Press; ISBN: 0937858994

Straightforward without being condescending, and intended for parents and kids to share, Madaras' books have sold in the hundreds of thousands. This latest edition offers expanded information on the subjects of how boys' voices change, how their bodies transform in shape and size, body hair, beards, sweat, and acne. There are also chapters on subjects that make both parents and kids even more uncomfortable: the reproductive organs, sexuality, wet dreams, puberty in girls; and much more, with appropriate information for 9-to-15-year-olds on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted disease, and birth control. Naturally, it's illustrated.

Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (2nd Ed)

Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (2nd Ed)
by Bob Carroll (Editor), Michael Gershman, David Neft, John Thorn (Editor), Mike Gershman (Editor)
Harpercollins; ISBN: 0062701746

Says Amazon, "At just over seven pounds, the updated Total Football II has the heft of a refrigerator (see William Perry, defensive tackle, p. 1173), and, at 1812 pages, it covers about as much ground as a scrambling quarterback (see John Elway, p. 774). It has all the requisite stats that make a sports reference necessary, but that's just the straight-ahead stuff good for three yards a carry. Where Total Football II breaks free is in the razzle-dazzle of its essays and opinions. Argue with its list of the 300 best players ever. ... Study how the game's strategies evolved, and learn how to read their diagrams. Even discover how to decipher the mysteries of what the quarterback means when he calls 'Red right. Eighteen. Bob odd oh. On three' in the huddle, gets up to the line of scrimmage, and barks, 'Pro. Blue 32. Blue 32. Down. Hut! (Pause) Hut! Hut!'"

UFOs, JFK and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be Crazy to Believe

UFOs, JFK and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be Crazy to Believe
by Richard Belzer
Ballantine Books (T); ISBN: 0345429176

Richard Belzer - John Munch to fans of "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" - doesn't really have an alternative theory of history. He's just deeply suspicious of the version that we get. Belzer knows his stuff, and he's an encyclopedia of the inconsistencies that we generally accept as history, perception, and fact. Like the rest of us, he doesn't trust government; the depth of our paranoia doesn't match Belzer's, though, and we part company somewhere along the line after we acknowledge that government is scary. If you've ever heard his stand-up rants, you know he's aware that audiences think he's just a tad eccentric. It doesn't make any difference; they - and we - still like his company.

MUSIC TO READ BY

24 Nights

24 Nights
Eric Clapton
Wea/Warner Brothers; ASIN: B000002LN9

One of rock's true musicians, Eric Clapton offered up a series of concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall over 24 nights in 1990 and '91. But Clapton, as close to a Renaissance man as contemporary music can claim, made the presentations completely unique. Over the course of the concerts, he played first with a four-piece band, then with a nine-piece band, with a handful of current blues greats, and then backed by full orchestra. If the orchestral numbers lack individualist passion, there's general agreement that the blues numbers were the highlight - blues being Clapton's first love, its guitarists his earliest idols. And, of course, we have to mention that whatever else is going on behind him, Clapton's Slow Hand commands attention throughout.